The western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte) is one of the most important pests of maize in Hungary. As both larvae and imagoes are capable of causing major economic losses, their control in continuous maize cropping systems is essential. The control of larvae is costly and the related use of large doses of soil disinfectants places an increased burden on the environment. In recent years, several chemical products used as soil insecticides and seed dressings have been phased out, thus increasing the value of environmentally friendly biological products that provide effective protection against the pest. The active ingredient azadirachtin, the extract of the seeds of Azadirachta indica is one of such biological agents. In our experiments, we studied the efficacy of two azadirachtin products, Neemazal T/S (1% azadirachtin; 10 g/l) and Neemazal F (5% azadirachtin; 50 g/l) used as seed dressing against western corn rootworm larvae. The products were used in different concentrations (10–150%) in different regions and on various soil-types in Hungary. The active ingredient could effectively control the pest in its larval stage. Treatments with concentrations exceeding 50% were effective in all the replications.

The presented study introduces the most common and significant insect pests of the grapevine (Vitis xinifera) in Slovakia, specifically the occurrence of the European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana) and the American grapevine leafhopper (Scaphoideus titanus). Historical records set prerequisites to studying the complex interactions between the pests and their host plant. If they are not understood sufficiently, they may have devastating consequences on the grape-growing. The research was carried out in the model vineyards in Jelenec, Ladice and Topol'čianky during the period from April to September 2019 and 2021. Jelenec and Ladice had six monitoring sites, Topol'čianky had seven monitoring sites. Data were collected in approximately 30-day cycles. The aim of research was to monitor the incidence of insect pests in selected vineyards and identify' their relation to environmental conditions. Pheromone traps were used throughout the research. The insect traps in combination with species-specific pheromone represent a reliable method for the pest monitoring. Based on aim studying the link between insect pests and climate conditions, traps were dispersed at the place of installation of the microclimatic dataloggers and the automatic stations. Data on the occurrence of the pests were subsequently evaluated in the context of the climate variability (temperature, wind speed, precipitation) and distance of the locality from the forest using Redundancy Analysis. It was confirmed that the insect pests are unequally distributed in the studied region and also inside the vineyards. Using Redundancy Analysis, we were able to explain the bonds in a maximum of 40% insect pests-environmental factors relationships. This research results show the need for regular monitoring of insect species, taking into account microclimatic as well as other ecological factors to optimize agrotechnical interventions.